WHAT'S AHEAD
Drake faces a pair of matches this weekend hosting Green Bay on Saturday (Feb. 23) at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center before a road test at Kansas on Sunday (Feb. 24). Match times are slated for 10:00 a.m. versus the Phoenix and at 12:00 p.m. against the Jayhawks.
A LOOK BACK
Drake saw its modest two-match winning streak snapped last Saturday (Feb. 16) as Iowa registered a 7-0 victory past the Bulldogs in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes garnered the doubles tally with wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions to assume a lead they didn't relinquish.
Iowa extended its lead to 3-0 with singles triumphs at the Nos. 1 and 3 slots before Shelby Talcott secured the match-clinching tally with a 7-5, 6-0 win over freshman
Lea Kozulic (Varazdin, Croatia) at No. 2.
Freshman
Jordan Eggleston (LaQuinta, Calif.) battled down to the wire on the No. 4 court before suffering a 6-3, 5-7, 10-7 setback.
Although it didn't result in match wins, the Bulldogs received solid second-set efforts from freshmen
Evy Van Genechten (Antwerp, Belgium) and
Maddie Johnson (Onalaska, Wis.)
IN OUR LAST ENCOUNTERS
Drake 7, Green Bay 0 (Feb. 10, 2012)
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Drake netted its then fifth-consecutive victory registering a 7-0 triumph at Green Bay.
The Bulldogs earned decisions at all three doubles slots with the tandem of
Amanda Aragon and
Nell Boyd (Arlington Heights, Ill.) clinching the tally with an 8-5 victory at No. 3.
Clinching the match on the No. 3 court was
Gabriela Demos, who posted a 6-0, 6-3 triumph.
The Bulldogs also garnered wins at the Nos. 2, 4 and 6 slots, courtesy of
Manca Krizman, Aguilera and
Earlynn Lauer.
Kansas 6, Drake 1 (Feb. 25, 2012)
DES MOINES, Iowa - Battling down to the wire, Drake suffered its first loss in over a month, dropping a 6-1 decision against Kansas at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. The setback snapped the Bulldogs' 10-match winning streak.
The two sides split the opening two doubles contests at the Nos. 1 and 3 courts, respectively, to set the stage for a winner-take-all event at No. 2.
The Jayhawks' duo of Paulina Los and Monica Pezzotti appeared well on its way to clinching the doubles point before the Drake duo of
Jessica Aguilera and
Klavdija Rebol mounted a furious comeback.
Kansas held a 6-2 lead before the Bulldogs rolled off three unanswered tallies to cut the deficit to 6-5. The Jayhawks then extended the margin to within one point of victory at 7-5.
Aguilera and Rebol battled back to 7-6 before staving off several match points to avoid defeat and square the contest at seven. In a back-and-forth next game, the Jayhawks outlasted Drake to take the doubles point.
Manca Krizman evened the affair at one in singles action winning at No. 2, 6-1, 6-4.
The remaining five contests all went in favor of Kansas, although the final scores didn't belie how close each match proved to be, with the Bulldogs grinding out every point.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Drake returns four letterwinners from a squad that posted a school record in wins with a 22-7 ledger last spring, including a second-place showing in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs picked up where they left off a year ago in the fall, registering a 102-76 combined singles/doubles record.
Freshmen
Jordan Eggleston and
Maddie Johnson lead Drake with 28-16 and 24-11 combined singles/doubles ledgers, respectively. Eggleston has registered a team-best 15 singles victories, while matching junior
Klavdija Rebol with a team-high 13 doubles triumphs.
The Bulldogs also have received combined double-digit victory totals from
Evy Van Genechten,
Nell Boyd, Rebol, freshman
Mariel Ante (Riverside, Calif.),
Lea Kozulic and senior
Ali Patterson (Overland Park, Kan.) with 20, 19, 19, 17, 16 and 14 wins, respectively.
HOME COOKING
The Bulldogs own a 23-6 mark in the Roger Knapp Tennis Center under head coach
Paul Thomson.
DRAKE HEAD COACH PAUL THOMSON
Paul Thomson is in his third season leading the Drake women's tennis program after serving five years (2005-10) as head men's and women's coach at Brevard College in Brevard, N.C.
Thomson led the Bulldogs to a 13-10 mark during his inaugural campaign, including a 4-3 third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference and Drake's first winning record since 2006.
During his rookie season guiding the Bulldogs, he mentored then freshman
Klavdija Rebol, who became Drake's initial first team All-MVC performer since 2005, garnering all-league accolades at the No. 3 singles position.
Manca Krizman was also honored for her play on the court, being named to the All-Select squad by the MVC coaches.
Off the court,
Gabriela Demos was honored for the second-consecutive year as a first team MVC Scholar-Athlete selection.
In 2012, Thomson led the Bulldogs to a record-setting 22-7 ledger, en route to a 5-2 second-place finish in the MVC. The 22 victories established a school record for wins and allowed Drake to surpass the 20-victory plateau for only the second time in school history.
The Bulldogs captured their initial postseason triumph since 2006 when Drake advanced to the State Farm MVC Championship semifinals with a 4-1 victory over Northern Iowa.
Five players earned 20 or more singles wins, sparked by Krizman, who posted a team-best 31-5 singles record, which included a 25-match winning streak. Every Bulldog registered a winning singles' record, while all but one Drake player matched the feat in doubles, led by 27 wins courtesy of Demos.
Pulling in MVC All-Select team honors were Krizman and Rebol, while Demos was named to the All-MVC Scholar Athlete first team for the third-consecutive campaign. Collecting honorable mention All-MVC Scholar-Athlete accolades was Krizman.
Drake's senior class of
Amanda Aragon,
Jessica Aguilera, Demos, Krizman and
Earlynn Lauer made its mark on the Bulldogs' program. Demos finished first in school history (since 2006-07) in combined career victories (139), while ranking third in school history (since 1990-91) in career doubles wins (74). Krizman is third in school history (since 2006-07) in combined career victories (126), while Aguilera is rated fourth (120).
UP NEXT
Drake returns to the Roger Knapp Tennis Center to open a three-match weekend homestand hosting Central Arkansas and Northern Illinois on March 2 before playing Nebraska Omaha on March 3. Match times against the Bears and Huskies are slated for 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively, while the showdown with the Mavericks is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start.
